|
|
|
Jesus
said, “Not all people who sound religious are really godly. They may refer to
me as `Lord,' but they still won't enter the Kingdom of Heaven. The decisive
issue is whether they obey my Father in heaven. On judgment day many will tell
me, `Lord, Lord, we prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and
performed many miracles in your name.' But I will reply, `I never knew you. Go
away; the things you did were unauthorized.'”
(Matthew 7:21-23 NLV). My good friend Ed Braswell sent the
following joke to me this morning. It sparked a thought or two about how many
people react to the truth that we are responsible for our actions. An older man was speeding down
the road at 80 mph when he looked in his rearview mirror and saw a Texas Highway
Patrol car coming with its lights flashing and siren blaring. Thinking he could
outrun the trooper, the man speeded up to 100 mph. Suddenly, he realized his
foolishness and pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. The trooper
pulled up, walked up to the car and said, "Sir, my shift ends in 30 minutes
and it's Friday. If you can give me a reason why you were speeding that I've
never heard before, I'll let you go." The man looked at the trooper and
said, "Last week my wife ran off with a State Trooper and I thought you
were bringing her back." The trooper replied, "Have a nice day." I
hope it brought a smile to you as it did to me. I also hope it began you
thinking as it did me! Our reading this morning is set in the midst of the
Sermon on the Mount. Jesus had withdrawn from the vast crowds of people and
focused His efforts on the disciples. Just prior to this statement Jesus used
the illustration of a good tree. It
was very plain and easy to understand. Simply stated: if you want good fruit,
you’ve got to plant a good tree. Perhaps
you’ve heard me talk about my peach trees. When I planted them some years ago,
I desired to raise them to produce enough peaches for our personal use. This
year looks like they are going to give us a bumper crop! I also planted another
tree this year in the front. It is a Southern Magnolia tree.
I planted it for the blooms and foliage it produces. Wouldn’t it be
ridiculous for me to treat it the same way that I do the peach trees? Can you
imagine how silly it would be for me to look for peaches on it each year? The
nature of the tree is to produce foliage and blooms natural to that species.
And, no excuse in the world will change the nature of the trees. So
it is with our nature. Regardless of how many excuses we may offer our judgment
will be based on whether we know Jesus. That’s
what changes our nature. Our actions and words are not enough to save us without
the transforming grace and power of Christ at work in our lives. We will not
face the judgment and get a chance to “talk” our way out of the penalty of
sin, no matter how original our excuse may be! Do you know Jesus? You can. Ask
Him to give you a new nature today!
|
|
